It just keeps getting worse and worse for Taijuan Walker

It just keeps getting worse and worse for Taijuan Walker.

After allowing eight runs over three innings last Friday in Kansas City, he was hammered again by the Astros on Wednesday afternoon, giving up six runs on a career-high 13 hits over six innings — with no strikeouts — in a 10-0 Phillies loss that somehow felt even more lopsided.

Walker’s fastball velocity has been slightly better since his return from the injured list, and his splitter has had slightly more movement, but it hasn’t translated into anything meaningful. He is still in the low-90s with his heater, still has little separation between fastball and splitter, still isn’t throwing high-quality strikes, still isn’t generating weak contact, and he’s not even eating innings right now since the starts have been so short. Had the Phillies’ offense made Wednesday’s game competitive, Walker might not have finished the fourth inning. The only reason he lasted as long as he did is because it let manager Rob Thomson avoid using his key relievers ahead of a big series against the Braves. No Phillies pitcher since 1948 had allowed so many hits without a strikeout.

The Phillies have lost nine straight games started by Walker, last winning on May 22 against the Rangers. He is 3-6 with a 6.50 ERA in 14 starts and has been outperformed by Triple A depth pieces like Kolby Allard and Tyler Phillips.

Was this Walker’s last start in a Phillies uniform? It becomes a louder question with each clunker. He is still owed a significant amount of money — $3 million more this season, $18 million in 2025 and $18 million in 2026. If the Phillies release him tomorrow, they’d be eating approximately $39 million. If they cut ties with him after the season, they’d be eating $36 million.

He’s pitched so poorly that a release after the season is a realistic possibility. Regardless of whether or not they make that decision now, the Phillies at least have the option of removing him from the rotation.

Walker will not be pitching in any role in the playoffs so it’s really just a conversation right now about the remaining five regular-season starts in his rotation spot. The Phillies could turn to Allard or Phillips at some point in September. Barring an injury, Allard cannot be called up until Sept. 9 or Phillips until this Saturday, Aug. 31 because they were recently optioned to Triple A, where a pitcher must remain for at least 15 days before being recalled.

The Phils could also give Walker several more chances with the thinking that, at worst, they’d go 0-5 in his starts while still almost certainly making the playoffs, and at best, get some semblance of production out of a player they invested heavily in. The issue is there have been no signs that anything will improve for him.

The Phillies’ lineup was stifled by Astros rookie right-hander Spencer Arrighetti, who didn’t allow a hit until the bottom of the eighth and struck out 11 over 7⅔ innings. Between Walker’s early ineffectiveness and all the whiffs Arrighetti generated, the game was over by the fourth inning.

The Phils did win the series by taking the first two games. They’re 78-55 as the Braves come to town for a four-game series Thursday through Sunday. The Phillies’ NL East lead is 5½ games pending Atlanta’s result in Minnesota on Wednesday night.

This weekend is the final head-to-head meeting between the Phillies and Braves. A split would go a long way in helping secure the division because the Braves would leave Citizens Bank Park in the same spot they entered. Any outcome worse than that and September becomes more interesting.